In a groundbreaking surgery, doctors at SMS Hospital, Jaipur, successfully removed a 210-centimetre-long trichobezoar—a tightly packed mass of ingested hair—from the stomach of a 14-year-old girl from Barara village in Agra district, Uttar Pradesh. This is believed to be the longest trichobezoar ever recorded globally, surpassing the previous record of 180 cm.
Rare Case Presents Major Surgical Challenge
As reported by TOI, the trichobezoar extended through the girl’s small intestine, making the operation highly complex. Surgeons aimed to remove it in a single piece to avoid multiple intestinal incisions. Despite the complexity, the two-hour surgery was completed without any need for a blood transfusion. Remarkably, the team extracted the entire mass intact.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
The girl had been suffering from abdominal pain and persistent vomiting for over a month. When she arrived at SMS Hospital, doctors detected a hard mass in her abdomen, extending from her stomach to the upper right side of her abdomen and navel. A Contrast-Enhanced CT (CECT) scan confirmed a swollen stomach containing an unusual foreign body.
Pica: The Underlying Cause
Doctors diagnosed the girl with Pica, a psychological disorder in which individuals consume non-edible items. According to Dr. Jeevan Kankaria from the hospital’s surgery department, the girl initially started eating chalk in school under peer influence. Eventually, she began consuming hair.
“During surgery, we discovered the trichobezoar contained not just hair, but also wooden fragments, rubber bands, stones, threads, and other non-food items,” said Dr. Kankaria.
A World Record in the Making
“When we measured it, the trichobezoar was 210 cm long—making it the world’s longest ever removed from a human stomach,” Dr. Kankaria noted. He added that the hospital would apply for a Guinness World Record. Dr. Kankaria already holds four Guinness World Records in surgical achievements.
Patient Recovery Underway
Currently, the girl is under observation and receiving post-operative care at SMS Hospital. Doctors plan to discharge her soon, once her condition stabilizes. She is a Class 10 student and comes from a farmer family in Uttar Pradesh.